If you are thinking about college majors, this book offers a lot of help. If you have no idea what you want to study in college, it can help you discover majors that might appeal to you. If there are several majors that interest you, it can help you make an informed choice. If you already know what you want to major in, it can help you prepare for the program by letting you know what to expect.

Your college major is the subject that you will take the most courses in and learn about. It’s the area of study that your degree will be in, after you complete the required courses. Whatever your major, you’ll probably take up to half your courses in the liberal arts, to fulfill what’s know as “general education” or “core” requirements. This group of subjects includes the humanities, the fine arts, philosophy, history, foreign languages, social sciences, math, biological sciences, and physical sciences. Why do so much work outside your major? Colleges want to make sure that you have a well-rounded education – that you become familiar with a wide variety of subjects.

In the College Board Book of Majors, you will find in-depth descriptions of 193 undergraduate majors, plus five preprofessional programs. Each major’s profile includes the following information:

Name of Major: Generic name of the major that is most often used and most widely recognized

Also Known As: Alternative names of the major

What It’s About: Quick idea of the subject area the major covers and careers that it prepares you for

Is This For You: Helps you select a major according to what you like to study, what you’re good at, and what your personal qualities are

Recommended High School Prep: Courses you should have taken in high school for the major

Did You Know: Important aspects or interesting facts about the major or the careers it may lead to

Typical Courses In The Major: Sampling of courses offered in the major, in the order they should be taken

Concentrations: You can sometimes concentrate your studies, or specialize, in a certain area within your major

What The Study Of This Major Is Like: Tells you what you’ll actually study in a major, and how the major is generally taught and learned

Other Majors You Might Like: Lists majors that are related by subject matter, approach, or the interests and characteristics of the students who study them

Questions To Ask Colleges: Designed to help you find colleges that have strong programs for your major, or that approach the subject area in a way that is compatible with your goals and interests

Career Options and Trends: Lists job titles in careers the major may lead to

Insider’s Viewpoint: Professors/Students were asked to tell something about what appeals to them about major

Directions

1. Review the majors in the Table of Contents. The page numbers to find the majors that interest you are listed next to each major.

2. Read about the majors that interest you on pages.

3. If a major still interests you after reading about it, review which schools in each state have that major. The majors are listed in alphabetical order on these pages. Under each major, the states are listed in alphabetical order. Under each state, the schools in that state that have the major are listed in alphabetical order.

4. If a school interests you, research that school online or use the College Board College Handbook.

College Board College Handbook

The College Handbook is a great place to begin your college search, but you should not, however, rely on this book exclusively. Take advantage of the other resources available to you – the Internet, campus visits and interviews, college fairs and viewbooks, your school counselor, family and friends – before you make your final decision. Don’t be dismayed if you find that you must change directions more than once as you learn about the colleges. This only means that you are learning about yourself as well. The College Handbook is divided into four main sections. The first contains guidance materials to help you plan for college. Four-year college descriptions are in the second section, two-year college descriptions are in the third, and the last section contains tables and indexes.

Directions

1. Find the college that interests you using the Alphabetical Index of Colleges.

* The College Board’s Web-based College Search (www.collegeboard.com/collegesearch) is also a tool for creating your list of colleges to investigate. The interface helps you find colleges that match your requirements, do side-by-side comparisons and find additional colleges that may also fit the bill.

2. Review the college that interests you and conduct further research if necessary.

3. You should apply to between five and seven schools:

4. You can also review the Tables and Indexes to quickly find colleges that interest you:

5. Cost is always a concern when applying to college. However, apply first to see if you are accepted. If the financial aid package is not good enough, then don’t go there. Don’t be one of those students who regrets that he/she didn’t apply to a certain college because of cost. You can always decline the acceptance offer.

College Board Financial Aid Handbook

A central aim of this book is to take the confusion and intimidation out of the financial aid process by giving clear and direct explanations of what fianncial aid is all about and simple, step-by-step directions for how to get it.

College Board Scholarships

Tap into the more than $2.8 billion awarded to more than 1.7 million students annually. This updated edition includes:

Descriptions of more than 2,100 scholarship, internship and loan programs across the country

Easy-to-use eligibility indexes based on residence, ethnicity, field of study, religious affiliation and more

Rugg’s Recommendations on the Colleges

This book allows students to review interested majors and the schools that offer that major. Frederick Ruggs is a former high school guidance counselor who was constantly asked by parents for a list of colleges that focused on a specific major. Through extensive research and countless interviews with fellow high school guidance counselors, Ruggs developed this book to match specific majors to colleges with the best programs. Ruggs chose 1,110 quality four-year colleges (out of over 2000 that offer bachelor degrees). The colleges are divided into three categories: Most Selective, Highly Selective and Selective. Furthermore, the colleges are labeled small, moderate, large or extra large according to enrollment size. There is also a section of the book that focuses on expected SAT-1 and ACT scores at each college.

In 2002, College Prowler revolutionized the college search industry with a “by students for students” approach. By hiring student authors at campuses across the country and surveying thousands of college students each month, we created the first “insider” college guides—full 160-page books devoted to each school, written by actual students on campus.

Today, CollegeProwler.com has more than 200,000 student reviews and coverage on nearly 7,000 schools. Each month, more than 1 million high school and college students visit CollegeProwler.com to find and research schools and scholarships.

College Prowler guidebooks are available to rent for FREE in the Guidance Department. Ask your guidance counselor to borrow one. They are located in front of Mr. Wilkins’ office. Click College Prowler to visit the website.